King County Executive Dow Constantine plans to open the King County Recorder’s Office at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 6 to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The time comes immediately upon certification of Nov. 6 election results. Constantine intends to sign King County’s first marriage license for a same-sex couple at 12:01 a.m.

“I don’t want couples to wait a minute longer than legally necessary to get the rights that voters have recognized,” he said in a statement.

The move makes King County the first jurisdiction in the United States to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on voter approval. Voters in Washington, Maryland, and Maine approved same-sex initiatives on Election Day, but the laws in Maryland and Maine do not take effect until January.

Referendum 74, buoyed by strong support in King County, authorized same-sex marriage in Washington. Dana and Sage Alixander, longtime partners married in California before Proposition 8 outlawed same-sex marriage, hailed the historic decision in Washington.

Dana Alixander offered a “collective thank you” to R-74 supporters not long after the measure inched ahead in election night results.

Students statewide and in the Issaquah School District chose the same candidates as grown-up voters — Barack Obama for president and Jay Inslee for governor.

The exercise included 38,848 students statewide, including classes at Cascade Ridge Elementary, Endeavour Elementary, Sunset Elementary, Pine Lake Middle and Issaquah High schools in the Issaquah School District. The number of students participating statewide shattered the record for participation — about 18,000 students — set in 2008.

Students cast ballots online from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, and then Secretary of State Sam Reed’s office posted the results online. The results in the statewide Student Mock Election reflected the outcome in the real election, albeit with different margins.

King County Executive Dow Constantine is prepared to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as Referendum 74 supporters claimed victory in the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington.

Dow Constantine

But not so fast, came the response from opponents. R-74 challengers said uncounted ballots from outside left-leaning King County could spell defeat for the measure.

In the initial results released Tuesday, R-74 led in the tally 52 percent to 48 percent, among more than 1.9 million ballots statewide. The measure relied on deep support in King County; R-74 garnered support from 65 percent of local voters.

Constantine, a longtime same-sex marriage supporter, hailed the milestone hours after the organization behind the campaign to approve R-74, Washington United for Marriage, claimed victory.

The minimum age to vote is 18, but the hurdle did not stop students throughout the Issaquah School District from casting ballots in the tight races for president and governor.

Educators on local campuses organized mock elections or joined the annual Student Mock Election overseen by the state elections office to educate students about the importance of participation in the political process.

Students at Issaquah and Tiger Mountain Community high schools, Issaquah Middle School, and Creekside, Endeavour and Sunny Hills elementary schools cast ballots in ersatz elections or plan to do so by the actual Election Day, Nov. 6.

Teachers involved in the mock elections said the exercise is about more than determining whether students support Jay Inslee or Rob McKenna for governor.

The minimum age to vote is 18, but the hurdle did not stop students throughout the Issaquah School District from casting ballots in the tight races for president and governor.

Educators on local campuses organized mock elections or joined the annual Student Mock Election overseen by the state elections office to educate students about the importance of participation in the political process.

Students at Issaquah and Tiger Mountain Community high schools, Issaquah Middle School, and Creekside, Endeavour and Sunny Hills elementary schools cast ballots in ersatz elections or plan to do so by the actual Election Day, Nov. 6.

Teachers involved in the mock elections said the exercise is about more than determining whether students support Jay Inslee or Rob McKenna for governor.

The top elections official in Washington, Secretary of State Sam Reed, predicted strong voter participation in the Nov. 6 election, as counties started mailing ballots to voters Wednesday.

Statewide, county-level elections administrators sent more than 3.85 million ballots to registered voters. King County Elections is due to mail 1.16 million ballots.

Reed said intense interest in the contests for president and governor — plus ballot measures and other statewide races — should lead to strong voter participation.

“The presidential/gubernatorial election year always has the best turnout, and this year really has something for everyone,” he said in a statement. “We have a presidential race that is essentially tied at the national level and an open governor’s race that is very close and hotly contested.”